Americans visiting Rome during conclave describe what they want in the next pope
The papal conclave is convening on Wednesday to begin the process of electing Pope Francis' successor. And for Americans who are visiting Rome this week, it's a chance to experience history.
"It's ... probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in Rome when they're doing the conclave," John Swierk told "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil.
Several Americans said they believe God will guide the conclave.
"I'm not hoping for much because the Holy Spirit will hopefully lead either the Cardinals or lead the pope after the decision," said Grant Avis. "They'll be a successor of Christ either way, it's not really about my opinions."
But some, like Kathy Freeman, a Catholic flight attendant from New Jersey who flew to Rome for work, said, "I see it more political than divine intervention."
"It's like politics in the United States," she said. "It's another government up there."
A new CBS News poll found that 42% of American Catholics hope Pope Francis' successor continues his teachings. Freeman is among those, but adds she is still unsatisfied with aspects of the current church and raised her children outside of it.
"I would love as a Catholic to see more female intervention in all parts of the service," she said.
Dokoupil spoke to a group of men from Missouri who were also in Rome. They said the new pope doesn't need to be more liberal or conservative, but that he needs to unite the faith.
"Moreso than needing somebody who is left or right, we just need somebody who is a champion of the faith that everybody can get behind," said Alex Harold.
He also said the papacy "does not need to fit the age," adding "that's why it's 2,000 years old."
CBS News poll shows what U.S. Catholics want in next pope
A majority of those surveyed in the recent CBS News poll think the next pope should speak out on the world's political issues. They would also look for a pope who supports letting priests marry; of letting women be ordained as priests; and — overwhelmingly — for the use of birth control.
But the poll found a division of views between U.S. Catholics who are regular churchgoers and those who rarely or never attend.
In the United States, the number of Catholics attending mass has dwindled over the past few decades. Weekly or nearly weekly attendance is down 12% since 2000, according to Gallup.
"We're going through a crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States and especially in the global north. We have young people who just aren't interested and are leaving," said Father Thomas Reese, a priest and longtime chronicler of the faith. "It's something like one out of three people who were baptized Catholic no longer identify as Catholic in the United States. That's huge!"
When will the conclave elect the next pope?
The 133 cardinal electors who make up the conclave meet Wednesday. There is no set deadline for when a new pope will be elected to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, but recent popes have been chosen within two to three days of the conclave convening.
A candidate must receive two-thirds of the electors' votes, plus one, to become the next pope. When that happens, white smoke will rise from the Sistine Chapel to indicate a new pope has been selected.
